Meridian’s Commitment to Communities Sean Jackson Scholarship

Meridian’s Commitment to Communities Sean Jackson Scholarship

Meet Meridian's Sean Jackson Scholarship recipient for 2019

Our 2019 scholarship recipient is Luca Ramelli, a Hamilton resident and inspiring young leader. Luca is passionate about improving people’s health by creating innovative solutions to complex healthcare problems, leading a project with Hamilton Health Sciences that reduces the risk of falls in seniors when they are discharged from the hospital.

Luca is a talented athlete and a volunteer coach with Hamilton Challenger Baseball Association (HCBA), which provides social and recreational activities for individuals with cognitive and physical challenges. His time spent as a volunteer coach has led him to become a passionate advocate for inclusivity, successfully garnering grants from both the Jays Care Foundation and the City of Hamilton for significant upgrades to a local park and baseball diamond to make the public space more accessible – allowing for player inclusion and independence.

Are you an Ontario high school student making a positive impact on your community through initiative or innovation?

Apply now for our $10,000 Sean Jackson Scholarship.

Thank you to everyone who applied for the 2019 Meridian’s Commitment to Communities Sean Jackson Scholarship.
Please note only those selected for interviews will be contacted. The winner will be announced in Summer 2019.

Meridian’s Commitment to Communities Sean Jackson Scholarship recognizes and rewards community initiative, innovation and impact among Ontario youth. Each year, we award one leading post-secondary scholarship to a high school graduate who has demonstrated both academic excellence and an outstanding commitment to communities of their own.

Meridian is interested in hearing from students who are using energy, creativity and entrepreneurship to solve or address a vital problem in their community. Whether they are advocating for youth literacy or creating a solution for blue box lids, our past scholarship winners have made a demonstrated community impact.

Thank you to everyone who applied for the 2019 Meridian’s Commitment to Communities Sean Jackson Scholarship. Please note only those selected for interviews will be contacted. The winner will be announced in Summer 2019.

Scholarship Eligibility

The Scholarship is open to secondary students entering any field of study who meet the following criteria:

The student must be an Ontario resident

The student must be planning to enter their first year of study in the fall academic term at a recognized, publicly funded Canadian college or university

The student must have achieved an academic average of 80 per cent or higher

The student must have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to their community. This can be achieved through volunteerism that demonstrates leadership and/or initiating innovative community projects.

All applications must be received by 11:59 pm on April 30, 2019.

Required documents:

Official Transcripts (most recent)

Letter of Recommendation from school (signed)

Letter of Recommendation from community group (signed)

Proof of post-secondary education acceptance

When saving your documents, please name them using the following conventions: Last Name, First Name, Document name (e.g. Smith, John, Transcript; Smith, John, Letter of Recommendation; etc.)

Past Sean Jackson Scholarship Winners

Advait Maybhate, 2018

This August, we met with our 2018 recipient of the Sean Jackson Scholarship at our local Waterloo Branch. Advait Maybhate is an impressive young man whose passion for all things STEM - science, technology, engineering, and math - shines through his every word.

Advait is an impressive intellectual with passions for helping others and spurring innovation. His compassion and care, coupled with his academic perseverance, not only makes him one of Ontario’s brightest, they make him an excellent teacher and mentor to the youth in his community.

Heba Shahaed, 2017

Heba Shahaed, an Aurora resident, was Meridian’s 2017 scholarship recipient. A community and youth advocate, Heba played a pivotal role in bridging the divide between youth and seniors in her community. Working in partnership with the Aurora Historical Society, Shahaed led an oral history project called Let’s Talk Aurora which focused on collecting and preserving Aurora’s intangible heritage by having local high school students interview local seniors.

Heba’s demonstrated passion for youth empowerment continues through her community involvement and studies at McMaster University with the goal of becoming a pediatrician.

Kevin Han, 2016

Burlington resident Kevin Han was Meridian’s 2016 scholarship recipient. As a high school student, he initiated change in his school and neighbourhood, where he applied his skills in relationship-building, tutoring and design to make his community a better place. Kevin led a series of school bike-a-thon fundraisers for the Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation which raised $50,000 to benefit pediatric cancer hospitals, and he mentored local youth through the Chill Zone after-school program.

Kevin demonstrated a passion and eye for environmental innovation by designing a blue box lid solution being piloted by a Burlington city councillor. Kevin’s scholarship is supporting his studies in Engineering at the University of Toronto. He hopes to apply his skills to tackle developing world challenges through Engineers Without Borders, and domestic issues here in Canada.

Julia Mogus, 2015

Oakville resident Julia Mogus was the inaugural recipient of Meridian’s Commitment to Communities Sean Jackson Scholarship. Since the age of ten, Julia has volunteered more than 3,000 volunteer hours advocating for youth literacy. A self-proclaimed “bookworm aficionado,” her passion for literacy led her to co-create Books With No Boundswhich provides indigenous children and teens living in remote communities throughout Canada and around the world with books donated by publishers, authors, schools, individuals and organizations.

About Sean Jackson

This scholarship is named in tribute to Meridian’s former CEO, Sean Jackson. Sean served as Meridian’s CEO from 2005-2012 and led our organization towards tremendous growth. He was equally strong in supporting his community having volunteered countless hours to a variety of causes and being influential in the creation of the Niagara Community Foundation in his role as a founding director. Meridian has created this scholarship to honour Sean’s excellence in his role as CEO and as a community leader.